Long Road
by SuperNeos2
Summary: After the events with Bud Hyde, Eric and his friends are determined to try and put their lives back together. But just as they start preparing to move on, something throws them right back to where they started. Eric is now determined to protect Jackie and make sure that she doesn't get hurt again. Sequel to Guardian. Eric/Jackie
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own That '70s Show

AN: **This is the sequel to Guardian. The beginning of this story takes place a couple weeks after the ending of Guardian, which I am gonna rewrite to make it better because I kinda rushed that ending. I'll do that later when I have time to. Thanks to nannygirl for helping me get back into my writing muse for this fandom.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 1

Eric Albert Forman was sitting in one of the seats situated outside of his house in his backyard. His feet were folded and resting on top of the wooden railing that was set just a couple inches away from him. His hair had grown longer in the past few weeks, not having the will to cut it or comb it. It now reached down to his neck, giving him an older and more mature look; but he also looked dirtier. Eric also had stopped being a smartass to everyone about everything, further proving that he had changed within the past few weeks. He was quieter, but he was mostly like that towards the few strangers he talked to during the weeks when he went out with his friends, which wasn't as energetic or exciting as it used to be. His eyes were focused ahead on the lone basketball that rested under the hoop, having stopped rolling after Eric's failed attempts to shoot the ball in the basket.

It was hard to shoot a basketball when you only had one hand.

He used his remaining hand to start undoing the bandages that covered his stump. He sighed as he remembered how he lost his hand. Eric lost his hand in a brutal war between him, his friends and a group of people who kidnapped his mother, sister, Donna, and Jackie. Eric and his family had gone through a lot and had done a lot to save them. His hand was just one of the many casualties that they faced because of that war. Hyde also lost his eye, having been shot by one of their enemies. Eric still had recurring nightmares about Hyde dying from that injury. He was fine now, back up on his feet like if nothing happened to him and he wasn't just fighting death. Eric respected his friend's strength.

Fez had a broken ankle from having a motorcycle toppled on his leg. They didn't even know it until he was walking and suddenly collapsed clutching his foot, hollering in pain about how it felt like it was on fire. He was getting better now, not needing to be cared for like he had to be in the beginning.

Everyone else was fine, no injuries having been given to any of them. Kelso was alright physically, although Eric was concerned for his mental stability. Kelso might've tried to act like nothing was wrong with him, but he wasn't the same goof that they all knew before. He was actually more serious now and didn't joke around when the war was brought up or when it came to his friends' injuries. Donna was okay, only pissed about how everything could've been avoided if they would've just casted aside their newest friend. Eric ignored everything she said about him. Jackie was traumatized, not surprisingly after everything that has happened to her. His mother and father were alright, although his dad now had recovering bruises from the brawl that they had faced. His sister was anything but fine. In one day, she was raped and had lost someone that she really was falling for, someone that she didn't think of as her next sex partner; although her affection for him obviously started with that feeling, it being how Laurie was after all.

Eric pulled the bandages off completely, revealing the stump that rested in the place of his right hand. He stared at the wound with an impassive look on his face. He would lose his hand again since losing it saved the lives of people he cared about. He lowered his head as he thought about that. He couldn't save everyone. He lost someone that he grew to care about like family. Eric growled as he slammed his stump into his knee in anger.

Frankie Wilson. A name that Eric would never forget. He was a young boy that the gang had met two months ago that they saved from death on the side of the road. Eric had thought they done a good deed, but he didn't seem to think so as the boy begged them to let him die. Eric and his friends didn't let him and allowed him to join them after learning that he had no family. Well, they found out later that he did have a family… a family that tried to kill them. Most of them were killed, leaving only his father alive. Eric, Kelso, and Frankie had done the deeds necessary and killed four out of five of their enemies. That war pushed them all together and made them a more tight-knit family then they were before. This one boy made them all closer. And he died saving them, having been blown to bits with the old police building where the girls were being held.

Eric missed him. He missed the quiet boy whose life he had saved from certain death once. He wished he was able to do it again. He knew everyone else missed him too. Everyone honored his sacrifice and vowed that he would never be forgotten by any of them and his death would always be remembered.

Well… one person didn't think he was dead.

And here he came now from the kitchen, sliding the door open and standing above him. He smirked down at Eric. "Having trouble there, Forman?" he asked with a small laugh at seeing Eric struggle to place the replacement bandages on his stump. "Need a hand?" he laughed again at his slightly cruel joke.

Eric smirked back, "Yes I do actually. This is a pain to get on, but always easy to get off." Eric started wrapping the new clean bandages on his stump. "How about you? You need help to clean out that giant hole in your face, Hyde?"

Hyde, clad with a face bandage that circled the right side of his face, frowned at Eric. "I just had it cleaned. Your mom was persuasive in making sure that it doesn't have a single amount of dirt or blood on it."

"That's kinda hard when we can see the inside of your head when you pull the bandage down."

Hyde shrugged, "Red made sure I didn't say anything like that to Mrs. Forman. You know," Hyde took the seat next to Eric, moving his two hands to help Eric wrap where his right one used to be. "I found Frankie's Colt Python…"

'Here we go again.' Eric resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his one-eyed friend. Once Hyde awoke from his coma after getting shot, they had told him about the news of Frankie's parenthood. His dad was Bud Hyde, which was a shock to everyone when they found out for the first time. Bud was the man that tried to kill them because he had something against Red for beating him on his lack of being a father to Hyde. That made Frankie and Hyde half-brothers. Hyde had taken the news with the only shocked and upset look they seen him with aside from the time he got shot. He asked where Frankie was, not seeing him in the group when he awoke; looking apprehensive and kinda excited at seeing his brother. Eric had to tell him the cold hard truth that Frankie was dead. Hyde didn't believe him, devoting the majority of his time to looking for his brother.

"I went to that police station and found it amongst the rubble. He wouldn't ever leave that Python behind for anything. He's too attached to it like another limb," Eric and Hyde laughed at that small irony. "He'll have to come back to get it. And also… I didn't find his body."

"Hyde," Eric started, hating to have to do this to his friend. "He used a grenade. His body will be in pieces and burned down to ash by the fire. He's not alive, man. I'm sorry to have to tell you that."

Hyde glared at him, which wasn't as effective with one eye. "Why are you acting like you don't have hope he's alive?"

Eric finished with the bandages, pulling his legs down to the porch. "Because he isn't."

"Until I find a body, I'm not stopping."

"You're wasting time,"

"It won't be a waste when I find him alive and well, waiting for us to take him back in."

Eric sighed at his friend's stubbornness. He never has seen Hyde so worked up about something before, especially when it came to his family. He and his mother didn't have the best relationship, but they were getting better after Hyde almost got killed; promising to be there for him more after he almost died because of his father. Eric didn't have to say anything about Hyde and his dad's relationship. It was about as strong as sand in water. Frankie was the only family Hyde was really connected with, even if he didn't know he was family for the majority of the time they've known him. Eric could understand why Hyde wouldn't want to give up. Eric would be the same way if he was in his position. But he saw Frankie die and told Hyde that over and over but he just wouldn't listen.

Hyde pointed a finger at him. "I didn't see him die. I wasn't there. Until I find his body cold and covered with all of the blood in his heart, he's still alive to me and I won't stop looking."

Eric knew that Hyde would wake up one day. He just needed to wait for him to slowly accept reality for what it was. Eric just didn't want Hyde to waste his life on something that obviously wouldn't happen and then regret letting his life slip by him for a lost cause. Eric would try every once in a while to try and talk sense into him, but when Hyde accepted it was totally up to him.

Eric nodded, "You're right. You do what you wanna do."

Hyde nodded in appreciation, pulling out the gun he had found in the rubble. The silver and gray paint was covered in black smudge and was missing all of its bullets. He must've wasted them all in the war they were in. The grip of the gun was also deprived of the brown paint that covered it. The barrel was pouring out ashes, Eric thinking that maybe Hyde had found his brother already.

"To think," Hyde started. "That this gun, this weapon, was used by someone as quiet and harmless as he is."

"He saved our lives at The Hub with that thing."

Hyde nodded, "He also killed his family for us. Although I know he really did it for what they've done to him, as much as I hate to admit that." He frowned again. "I knew Bud was a scumbag, but I didn't know he was a rapist and a murderer. Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover after all. That same thing goes for Frankie," Hyde placed the gun in Eric's lap. "Underneath all that silence was a killer and an angry abused boy. When I find him, I'm gonna make up for everything Bud and his brothers and friends did to him."

Eric saddened, "His brothers are your half-brothers too."

Hyde angered and shook his head. "No. They're my enemies. They're no family of mine. Kelso, Fez, and you are my other brothers, not those two assholes."

Eric smiled. "I guess we can't judge a book by its cover when it comes to you either."

"And why is that, Forman?" Hyde asked.

Eric smirked, "You're a softie on the inside."

Hyde scoffed, "Wanna pull down my bandage and try and find that so called softness? All you'll find is my blood, brain, and my fist in your gut."

"I'm handicapped, literally," Eric waved the stump. "You can't fight me."

"I'm handicapped too, Eric. I can beat you and no one will say anything." Hyde gestured to his right side of his face. "And my injury is way more brutal and disturbing then yours so people will look at you in a weird way, not me."

"Huh huh, yeah sure." Eric waved him off.

Hyde folded his left leg on top of his right knee. "So… things with you and Donna are done?"

Eric had broken up with Donna after she angrily stated that everything, ranging from Eric and Hyde's amputations to Laurie's rape, was his fault. That if they would've granted him his wish and left him to die then nothing would've happened to them and things would be different. Eric had retaliated and stated that it wasn't his fault and it was his family who had done it. Eric couldn't believe that Donna blamed the quiet boy for something that his family had done. He really thought she knew better then to blame someone for something that their family did. Eric had enough and said that until she grew up and realized how she was acting, they were done.

Eric nodded at Hyde. "Yeah. We're done. I can't believe she blames Frank for everything that's happened."

"I blame Bud." Hyde admitted. "Every time I clean my eye hole, all I can see in what's left of my head is him laughing at me, mocking me about not having two eyes like a normal person. The only thing that sucks is that I can't wear shades anymore. The bandage covers my ear too."

"In a couple months you can switch to an eye-patch." Eric tried to ease Hyde's spirits about his lack of vision.

"Wearing shades with an eye-patch on will look dumb. I look dumb now when I put the shades on with the bandage, or when I try to put the shades on. They won't stay with one ear."

Eric nodded and went back to gazing around. Everything looked all normal and the sun was shining in the sky, creating rays of light that brightened everything around them. Funny, because the only thing that the sun couldn't shine was their spirits. Things would never be fully okay for them ever again.

"Laurie misses him." Hyde broke the uncomfortable silence. "A lot."

"I know," Eric admitted. The feud that he and his sister had was all but gone because of what happened to them. They didn't make wise remarks about one another anymore, they didn't try and make the other one miserable, and they never threw one another under the bus. They were a stronger brother-sister pair because of what happened a few weeks ago. Eric could see every day just how much his sister missed Frankie. They were getting closer and Eric honestly felt that if he would've survived, they would've eventually gotten together. Laurie fell in love and then lost it in a snap. She had every right to be upset. Getting raped didn't help her spirit either. Eric fumed in anger as he thought of the monster that touched her. He wished he killed him himself.

"She's in love with him, isn't she?" Hyde asked, rubbing his hands together as he stared at the wall that separated Eric and Donna's houses.

"I really think so." Eric nodded, slouching back into his chair. The silence came back and the two friends were left in awkwardness and thoughtlessness. They didn't know what else to do now and didn't know what else to say. "Is Kelso and Fez stopping by?"

Hyde broke from his staring at the wall to look at his one-handed friend. "Fez is inside getting checked on by your mom and Kelso is having a talk with Red."

"What did he do now?" Eric asked immediately, old habits being hard to get rid of when it came to Kelso. Every time that he and Red chatted it was because the dunce had done something to piss Red off.

"Nothing. Kelso asked Red for advice on how to help deal with the trauma of taking a man's life. He seemed really spooked out when he and Fez arrived."

Eric nodded at Hyde's little recap, "Jackie…?"

The last member of their little gang was mentioned for the first time all conversation. Hyde didn't forget that Eric had a thing for her and was sure that Jackie was still caught in a slight confusion on whether or not she should tell Eric she likes him. Eric was still angry about her having been violated by the same scumbag that touched his sister in horrible ways. Hyde could cut the tension between the two of them with a knife and it would grow right back as soon as the cut finished. Eric and Jackie had unresolved issues beforehand and now it was only worse. Hyde wasn't sure if they could even become a couple after what they've been through separately. He had hope though, needing something good to happen after what they've gone through.

"She's here. We talked for a bit when she helped clean my wound. It was shocking because I never imagined Jackie Burkhart to get dirty for anything. She's in the basement right now… alone… by herself." Hyde dragged on each adjective to get Eric's mind into gear. They needed to talk and now was the perfect time.

Eric nodded, standing up and double checking the bandages on his stump. He smiled at Hyde, "Thanks for the help with the bandages. I'm gonna check on Fez. Hearing him complain about his leg being as hot as him is really annoying me and I wanna see if he's closer to getting his leg back into full shape."

Hyde frowned at the boy seemingly missing or ignoring the hints he gave but shrugged it off for now. "He's the only one who'll get something back." Hyde explained. Fez only lost mobility in his leg for a little while, while Eric and Hyde lost their hand and eye forever. They were never getting them back.

Eric nodded, placing his left hand on the sliding door. "Yeah… lucky him." Eric opened and stepped inside, leaving Hyde outside by himself. Hyde grabbed the Python that dropped to the ground when Eric stood up. The amputee picked back up and stared at it for a good long while before clutching it tightly in his hand.

"I'm gonna find you, brother. I'm gonna make things right."

End of Chapter 1 of Long Road

Pure Eric/Hyde friendship here. I love these guys.

We'll see everyone next time.

Thanks again to nannygirl for helping me get my muse back.

Favorite, Alert and Review and have a splendid night.

Next Time: Chapter 2


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own That '70s Show

AN: **Wow. I never thought that I would miss writing in this fandom so much. Now I feel pissed at myself for doing so. Thanks to those that reviewed and all of that good stuff. I do this for you guys. Now we see everyone in this chapter and how they're all acting in response to everything that's happened.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 2

Leaving Hyde to his own thoughts, Eric entered the kitchen of his home and made his way over to the refrigerator to get him some breakfast. His stomach was starting to growl for the request of food and Eric wasn't one to ignore a request, especially when he gets food as a result. Opening the fridge, Eric held it open with his foot so it didn't go closing on him and hit his head and reached to grab the milk from the lower shelf. Letting the door close behind him, he set the milk down on the table and turned to grab the bowl from the many that were present. Looking back and forth from the table to the bowl, Eric sighed and used his armpit to hold the bowl while he grabbed a spoon.

He didn't feel like taking many trips just to grab breakfast utensils.

Putting the spoon down, he pulled the bowl away from his armpit and set it down next to the row he made, the milk, spoon, and now bowl evenly and neatly being set in a horizontal row. He turned to make his third trip and opened the cupboard to grab a box of cereal. He didn't care which so he settled for the box of Froot Loops. He walked back to the table and set the box down with all of the other things he gathered. It took him three trips to get all of this when it should've really only taken one.

Having one hand sucked.

Sitting down, he went to work to make his breakfast. He set the spoon in the bowl, relieved that that wasn't complicated at all and that it didn't require any extra effort or work on his part to do it. He opened the lid to the box and poured the already open plastic bag that contained the cereal into the bowl. Eric, once again, was glad because if he had to open the bag, it would take a long time to do so. Now came the hard part. Pouring the milk into the bowl without making a complete mess. Eric braced himself and rotated the lid off of the milk, grabbing the handle on the side and starting to lift it up. Maybe he should've asked for help because lifting a nearly full gallon of milk with one hand, your non-dominant hand for that matter, wasn't a good idea. Eric's left hand was shaking due to the heavy gallon and when he lowered the milk to pour it, he accidently poured too much and flipped the bowl over, milk and cereal spreading across the table and the floor. Eric stood up quickly to avoid getting drenched but his action tipped the gallon over, spreading even more milk onto the once clean floor.

Within five minutes, Eric made a mess that was one for the history books.

"Damn it!" he cursed himself for acting like an idiot and trying to do this on his own. He surveyed his mess and saw that the once-full gallon of milk was now dripping all over the floor and the fruity cereal was drenched and scattered across the kitchen. Once his parents saw this, they were gonna kill him. He could see his dad with the angry vein in his forehead and his mother shocked at the sight of her kitchen all messy and destroyed. He was so dead.

"You should've asked for help," a feminine voice called from behind him, which made Eric jump at the sudden voice. "You only have one hand. You shouldn't be doing things by yourself yet."

Eric's head turned to see the form of Jackie Burkhart staring at him with a look of disapproval. Eric looked her up and down, not being able to stop himself from admiring how beautiful she looked. Ever since he almost died and when he had his hand chopped off by Bud, Eric decided to quit trying to act like he didn't like her. He learned that he could die at any time and he would have a regret of not letting her know himself how he felt about her if he were to pass on. Frankie didn't get to tell Laurie how he felt. Eric didn't want to make that same mistake.

"I don't wanna be a burden on anyone," Eric admitted, somehow finding a way to talk to her normally while staring at her gorgeous face and not complimenting her on it. Eric glanced at the mess for a quick second and then looked back to her. "Especially with something as easy as making a bowl of cereal."

Jackie light-heartedly berated him, "And look at what happened here, you spilled everything."

Eric smiled, "I tried though. Gotta give me credit for doing that with only one hand and a worthless stump." He waved his right arm, his stump coming into Jackie's view. Eric failed to see that she saddened when she looked at it.

"How is your stump?" her voice wasn't as strong as it used to be. After getting kidnapped and almost getting raped, Jackie wasn't as tough or as loud as she used to be. She was really traumatized about everything that's happened to her and it was affecting her relationships with all of her friends, but none more so then Eric. She still had her feelings for him, which only grew after hearing about everything he had gone through to save her. He killed a man and lost his hand for her. Sure it was arguable that he did it for his family and girlfriend at the time, Donna, but she was still a part of that group he fought to save. A part of her blamed herself for him losing his hand. If she wouldn't have gotten captured in the first place, then he wouldn't have had to go through all that horrible shit that he'd gone through.

Eric noticed the sadness in her voice, glancing at his right arm to focus on his stump. "Its fine, I guess. Not sure how it's supposed to be. I never met someone who lost a body part but Hyde, and he doesn't have a stump like me." He shrugged. "It hurts sometimes if that's what you mean and it's a pain in the ass to do anything these days," he motioned to his mess that he almost forgot was there. "Like making a bowl of cereal."

"I see that," she nodded, taking a better look at the breakfast disaster that Eric had created. "Could be worse…"

Eric laughed, "How?"

Jackie smiled when she heard his laugh, missing it when he went days without as much as a smile on his face. "I don't know." She admitted. "I'm just trying to make you feel better about your screw-up."

"A couple weeks ago you wouldn't so much as give me a compliment about anything," Eric reminded, Jackie growing stiff at the reminder of everything that has happened. "But now all you seem to do is try and uplift my spirits when I'm down." He smiled. "I kinda like it." He admitted, a small blush forming its way on his face.

Jackie blushed at the compliment that Eric had given her, rubbing her arm uncomfortably; not used to Eric outright admitting that he liked something about her. "I'm sorry…" she spoke out-of-the-blue, Eric growing confused at her sudden apology for something he didn't know. "You lost your hand for me,"

Eric shook his head, "No. I lost it because of Bud. He cut it off when I refused to rat Frankie out and hand him over," the name of their deceased friend brought tears to Jackie's face. Eric at one point thought that Jackie liked Frankie, seeing the way that she often gave him more attention than she did to him. But Jackie had admitted to him when Eric asked if she was upset he was dead that she thought of him as a little brother. Eric hadn't seen that coming and admitted that he thought she liked him as more than a friend. Jackie said she didn't and only had feelings for someone else. Eric knew it was him, Laurie having told him that she liked him when Eric asked her if she knew who Jackie liked and that the brunette girl told her when they were in the kitchen on the day they were taken. Eric was shocked, of course, but was also insanely happy that Jackie liked him back. Too bad that he didn't know what to do at that point since he and Donna were still together. They weren't together anymore, but Eric didn't want to drop the question on Jackie so fast. It would make it seem like he broke up with Donna for Jackie and that she would be the rebound. He didn't want her to feel like a silver medal. He would need to wait.

"But you were out there to save me, Donna, and your mother and sister. It's partially my fault you got amputated." Her tears were close to falling out of her face at this point, the guilt taking her over tremendously and giving her horrible feelings.

"I got amputated to save my friend, Jackie. And even if it is your fault, which its not," he quickly assured her so she didn't think he agreed with her on her guilt of his missing hand. "You got no reason to be guilty. I would do it again to save you." Eric didn't bother hiding his feelings. Like he said before, he wanted to make it clear that he liked her and always will no matter what. Maybe he always liked her but didn't know it, not seeing how his life could've been like without these feelings he had for the girl in front of him. Maybe a part of him wanted to break up with Donna so he can have Jackie? There were a lot of maybes right now that Eric couldn't answer.

Jackie held the tears at the corner of her eyes, "You would really go through that horrible pain of getting your hand chopped off again to save me? When I only ever acted like a bitch to you so I didn't have to tell you that I liked you?" Jackie couldn't understand why Eric was so serious about getting hurt again for her. He was one-hundred percent dead serious on this matter.

"Maybe if I wasn't as much at fault here as you, then no, maybe I wouldn't." Eric said. Jackie didn't understand what he just said and neither did Eric to an extent, so he switched up the words a little bit. "What I mean is that I acted like an ass to you because I couldn't handle the way I felt about you. I understand why you acted like a bitch to me. I acted like one to you, so I know you never meant me harm and never hated me. You always liked me like I always liked you."

"I thought I was the devil?" Jackie asked with a small smirk passing on her lips that Eric controlled himself to not kiss passionately for many hours, maybe many days.

"Bud has that title now. No one is as cruel or evil as he is." Eric darkened a little at the man that held a grudge against his dad and whom caused all of the chain of events that happened.

Jackie nodded at Eric's explanation. She giggled a little, Eric not being able to stop his smile that came when he heard her laugh. "How can someone who was as sweet as Frankie come from someone like him?"

Eric nodded in agreement, "Comparing those two side by side is like comparing oil and fire. Nothing in common between them whatsoever."

Jackie stopped her giggling and saddened once again, "I miss him…" she spoke out quietly, Eric wanting badly to get closer and hug her to reassure her that things will be alright; but then Eric would be lying to her. He wasn't sure things would ever be alright again, unless someone built a time machine. "He didn't deserve to die like that. He should've came with us when he had the chance." She shared a look with Eric. "Do you think he wanted to die?"

Eric had thought about that once or twice. Did Frankie just want to kill himself and die like he wanted to when they first met? Did he really not change that wish and always wanted it to come about? Eric had so many questions that concerned him about that kid and the only person who can give it to him is now dead. Should he tell Jackie how he really thought or should he give her the benefit of the doubt and not have her remember him as a suicidal boy who wanted death to take him?

"Eric…?"

Eric sighed, "I don't think so," lying to Jackie felt really wrong to do but he didn't want to crush her vision of her pseudo-little brother. "We pulled him out of his suicidal urges before… the war even started," Eric had a difficult time referencing the brutality that was known as 'The Forman's vs. Bud Hyde'. "He wouldn't have just killed himself because he didn't want to live anymore. I think he died to ensue that we all get out of there alive. I think he felt like someone wasn't gonna make it out and felt like it should be him." Eric gave Jackie what he hoped she wanted to hear.

Jackie listened to his theory and nodded, "Alright… thanks."

"Don't feel bad about it," Eric attempted to calm her. "He wouldn't want you to have to mourn him. He died for us and that's what you should know. He would say for you to move on and continue your life without him."

"He was still my friend, Eric. It's not easy to forget."

"I know, he was mine too."

Silence now overtook Eric and Jackie's conversation, both now not knowing what to say. They pretty much discussed what was needed to be discussed… mostly. They still needed to talk about where their relationship stood now. Neither knew how to start off that conversation and neither really felt like right now was the best time to discuss this. But the sooner they talked, the sooner they could move on and decide what to do now for their relationship. Eric awkwardly messed around with his hand stump while Jackie twirled a strand of her hair in her finger, both mighty embarrassed about not being able to speak to the other.

"Jackie…?" Eric eyed his crush warily, worried that if he said the wrong words, he'll mess everything up. "I'm sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" she asked, confused at why Eric was apologizing to her.

"I'm sorry that I don't know what to do now. I'm sorry that we can't simply ask each other if we wanna date. That's not the case here. Everything we've gone through, everything that's happened to us really messed us up. I shouldn't have been an ass back when we didn't even meet Frankie. If I wasn't an ass, maybe things would be different now. Maybe we'll already have been dating."

"If we were dating before all this, things might be worse between us…" she admitted, sounding and looking really apologetic about her words.

"How can things get worse?" Eric really wanted to know. He couldn't see how things could possibly be worse between him and Jackie. Not being able to even try dating her was probably the worst thing that's happened to him. It was even worse then having his hand brutally chopped off. He would take that over not having a chance to try dating Jackie. The sad part was that he had to deal with both.

"If we were dating and I got… t-touched," her voice sounded choked up, it being really hard to relive her time as a hostage. "The way I did, then I couldn't imagine not being able to kiss or hug you if we were already doing it. It would hurt a lot more then this. This way, at least we won't have to suffer as much."

"It's not fair that we can't even have a chance to try!"

"You can't hug me, Eric! If you try, then I get all terrified and start lashing out." Hot tears were now flowing down her cheeks, the liquid having been built up since they started talking. "We tried hugging and I slapped you."

Eric remembered the cold and painful memory. This happened while Hyde was still in his battle with life and death in the hospital after getting shot. Jackie was all worried and scared that Hyde was gonna die, not being able to lose two of her friends within the same week; Frankie having been dead for three days now. Eric, feeling like she needed it, wrapped his left arm around her to comfort her. What happened was completely unexpected:

Jackie turned and slapped him across the face, hard, calling him horrible names; names she used to Frankie's brother Nathan, whom Eric dubbed 'The Rapist' after what he did to his sister.

No one was with them at that moment, so that little incident stayed between Eric and Jackie. Eric was shocked that she hit him, scared he might've done something wrong to upset her. Jackie apologized almost immediately and said she didn't know what came over her. Eric tried again after she said it was okay to hug her and this time she started pounding on his chest and screaming at him to stop. That was when they both sadly realized that Jackie's torture from Nathan went a lot deeper then what it was at first glance.

Eric brought himself back to the present, grateful to be back here and not reliving that horrid memory. "I'm sorry-"

"Stop apologizing to me!" she demanded. "You didn't do anything wrong to me! Nothing is your fault! Stop apologizing when there's nothing to apologize for!"

"I'm making you upset. I'm making you sad and I hate that I'm doing that. I really like you and I want to be with you and it's not fair that we can't be together because of one dead asshole and one living prick." Eric spat out, showing a little bit of the darker side of him that was born from this whole catastrophe.

Jackie's tears never stopped. "I'm sorry I'm a mess. You deserve someone better than me."

Eric really wanted to hug her now, but knew that he was gonna upset her if he did. He had a lot of work to do to cure Nathan out of Jackie's head, and he wasn't sure if he can fully erase him from her memory but he would try. He would do anything for her. "I don't want anyone else. I want you."

"I want you too, Eric. I wanted to date you since we met. I never noticed that you were everything I ever wanted in a guy. I wish I hadn't fallen for Michael's charm."

"Anyone who doesn't fall for Kelso's charm is either a lesbian or an alien, and I'm sure lesbians still fall for him." Eric joked to her, hoping to uplift her spirits just a little bit. He couldn't see if it worked or not.

Jackie looked into Eric's eyes and fought her urges to jump him and hug him tightly and never let go. She wanted to hold him down and hug him in that mess that had fallen into the background. If this was how it felt when they wanted to date, she couldn't have imagined how it would've felt if they already were dating before this. Maybe it was a good thing they didn't.

"You really broke up with Donna, didn't you?" Jackie changed the subject, still not really certain if Eric had really done it or not. Donna had told her a little bit ago that the two of them were done when Jackie went to see her, but she wanted to hear it from both sides first before she believed it.

Eric saddened slightly at the reminder of what he did and nodded. "Yeah, I did. She blamed Frankie for everything so I told her until she grows up we're done."

Jackie nodded a little bit, "Oh. Okay."

The door connecting the kitchen to the living room swung open, Red and Kitty appearing on the other side. Kitty's eyes were focused on Eric and Jackie and Red seemed to zone in on the breakfast mess like a hawk. He groaned, "Goddamn it."

Eric broke from his staring with Jackie and noticed his dad focusing on the mess that Eric completely forgot about. The panic that he felt when he first made the mess came back tenfold. "Dad, I can explain."

Red looked to his son, a large bruise on the side of his face from when the father and son duo got into their fight with Bud at the baseball field. "Did you make this mess, Eric?"

"Yes, sir, but I didn't mean to do it, I swear." Eric was trying to find the words necessary to explain what had happened, but was too worried over how his dad was gonna take his screwing up. He never did take it well.

Jackie came to his rescue, "He tried to make cereal by himself, but he dropped the gallon by accident." Jackie was kinda worried how Eric might handle a yell from his dad when the boy had earned his father's recognition not too long ago. It might upset Eric a lot more than it did before everything happened.

Red eyed his son before he sighed lowly, "Next time Eric, just ask someone for help. You just lost your hand not even a month ago. Don't try and push yourself before you're ready to handle things on your own."

Eric and Jackie were really shocked at the tone of Red's words. The Red Forman they knew would call Eric a dumbass for even trying to make breakfast on his own with one hand and then threaten to stick his foot in Eric's ass. They didn't expect him to be all soft and un-angry towards him. They were just frozen in place at the unexpected words that erupted out of the mouth of Red Forman.

"Fez and Michael are waiting for you guys in the living room. Fez's ankle will be healed in a few more weeks." Kitty told the two teens, who nodded at her words. "Where's Steven?"

As if on cue, the one-eyed man walked back from the backyard, the Python still gripped in his hand. Kitty gasped at the sight of it, "Is that…?"

Hyde nodded. "Yep. It's my brother's gun. I found it at the police station." The two women present in the room stiffened at the reminder of the building while Red angered intensely. "I'm getting close. I know it."

"Steven," Red motioned for his wife to not remind him of his brother's death. He wouldn't believe them and would just get all pissy at them for telling him the truth. He needed time to let the truth sink in and they would let Hyde take all the time that he needed to do so. Accepting death in the family wasn't easy for anyone and Hyde wasn't any exception.

Eric intervened before Hyde got angry over the lack of hope that his brother was alive. "I'll clean this up," Eric made a move to get the paper towels before his father shoved him away. "Dad…?"

"Just go see what Kettlehead and Poncho want. They've been here for a little bit now. I'll clean this up." Eric was getting freaked out at the sudden softness of his dad and made his exit so he couldn't be freaked out even more, Jackie and Hyde trailing not too far behind him. "One more thing," the three of them stopped. "Try and talk to your sister. She won't leave her room for anything." Eric nodded before he and his friends entered the living room.

Now that they were alone, Kitty turned to her husband, who was making his start on cleaning Eric's mess. "I think you freaked them out with how soft you were." She teased a little bit, trying to get Red to deny it.

He just kept on cleaning. "Maybe I did." He shrugged. "Eric has only one hand. He can't be doing too much just yet. He's still recovering after what Bud did to him." Red spat out the name of the man who amputated his son with so much venom that one would expect acid to come out of Red's mouth and start melting the floor.

"You've been a lot softer since the whole thing," she told him.

"And you've been more secretive and more paranoid since we last saw Bud." Red shot back the second she finished talking. After everything with Bud, Red and Kitty's marriage hit a small bump in the road. Kitty refused to talk about the captivity, claiming that nothing had happened to her. Red didn't buy it obviously, wanting to hear her side to the story. He heard Donna's, he heard Jackie's, and he heard Laurie's, which made him want to scream and kill Bud each time he thought about it. He had yet to hear his wife's side.

"Nothing happened to me," Kitty once again tried to calm her husband's paranoia. "They didn't do anything to me. They didn't even touch me."

Red wanted to call bullshit but refrained himself for doing so. Cursing out at his wife was not something he wanted to add to his long list of regrets that he now had after the Bud Incident. "You know I can just ask any of the other girls to tell me, right?" he warned, hoping that the small threat would work in getting Kitty to talk.

"I know and they'll tell you the same thing. Nothing happened to me. I'm okay." Red narrowed his eyes, but decided to come back to this later. He had a mess to clean right now. "Why are you so soft to Eric now? Not that I'm upset that you're finally not yelling at him for everything," she quickly added so Red didn't get the wrong idea.

Red debated whether or not to admit to Kitty why he was suddenly Mr. Nice Guy with Eric now. If he did, he would need to tell the whole truth, which he wasn't ready for. He sighed. He would tell a partial truth. "I regret a lot of things, Kitty. I couldn't stop Bud from taking you and Laurie for starters. That makes me a bad husband and a horrible father."

"You did everything you could to find us, Red. You're not a horrible husband or father for letting us get taken. You weren't here. You couldn't have known." Kitty quickly assured Red.

"I am a horrible father though," he let loose a look of sadness and guilt that he would only show Kitty. "I watched my son get his hand chopped off. I was right there and I couldn't do anything to stop it. He yelled and screamed and I couldn't do anything to help him. He cried for me to help him and that it hurt and I just stood there like an idiot."

"Red…"

"Not only did I make my son think I hated him, I also couldn't do anything to stop him from losing his hand. It should've been me that got amputated, not Eric. He didn't deserve it." Red felt so much guilt towards his inability to help his son that Red wasn't sure it would ever go away. "And I also couldn't stop my little girl from getting raped…" a few tears were threatening to escape his eyes. "Both of my kids suffered because of me. What kind of dad does that make me?" Most of the mess was cleaned by now. Red decided it was good enough for now and stood up, his bruises making it difficult to stand up.

Kitty wasn't sure how to convince Red that he wasn't a bad dad and that he did everything that he could've done. She settled for wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his back, her own tears falling out. All four Formans got injured in different ways because of Bud. The Forman Family was a mess that needed to be repaired soon before it became too late.

…

Eric, Hyde, and Jackie stepped into the living room to see that Kelso and Fez were indeed in there, both of them sitting on the couch facing the blank television. Fez's right leg was lifted and resting on the table in front of them, his crutches leaned against the arm of the couch. Kelso was resting his head in his hand while his elbow rested on the arm of the other side of the couch. The two best friends, nicknamed 'The Dynamic Duo', were quieter than they ever had been in their entire lives. They only looked away from the television to acknowledge their friends' presence before turning back again. This was an unfamiliar presence to the remaining three that just walked into the room. Kelso and Fez were supposed to be talking nonstop and making stupid jokes, not sitting and not saying a word to anyone. Just what happened to the group of friends? Did Bud really screw them all over so bad?

"How's your leg, Fez?" Eric broke the silence, staring at the ankle of the foreign boy. It was swelled to hell, purple being the new skin tone for Fez's lower leg. Made sense since the boy had a motorcycle tipped on him.

Fez looked away from the blank television to stare at the condition of his ankle before he looked to Eric. "It hurts like hell, Eric. I can't even walk without my crutches. Ms. Kitty said that I would be able to walk again in a few weeks and the swelling will be gone soon." Fez explained his recovery schedule to his one-handed friend.

"You don't sound excited by it," Hyde noted, squeezing into the middle of the couch between the two quiet boys.

Fez frowned but said nothing, his eyes fixated on the swelling of his ankle. Eric took quick note of that and decided that he wasn't gonna talk anymore.

Kelso looked to his one-eyed friend, "How's that hole in your face?"

Hyde shrugged, "Round, bloody, disgusting. All of that shit." He answered, Kelso nodding.

"I was just curious to see if it hurts."

"Not really. One side of my vision is just pitch black; like right now I can't see you if I sit straight but I can see Fez just fine. It doesn't hurt at all; I'm just half-blind so to say." Hyde waved the Colt Python in the air. "Look at what I found. I found Frankie's gun."

"He's dead, Hyde." Kelso elaborated kinda harshly. "He blew himself up. You're not gonna find him."

Hyde glared at him, "You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" he jumped up from the couch, eyeing down Kelso. "Wanna repeat that to me, moron?"

Kelso didn't ease up, starting to form his own glare at Hyde. "He's dead. D-E-A-D. Dead. He killed himself in the explosion, Hyde. Just accept it already. Do you wanna waste your life looking for a dead man?"

"I'm not looking for a dead man; I'm looking for my brother." Hyde and Kelso were starting a heated argument that was gonna end badly if one didn't intervene. The remaining three teens thought it was best to not get involved with the fight, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.

"Your brother is dead. It must suck to hear it, but it's the truth. No one in that family is alive but Bud and you. Every one of them is dead, killed by all of us. People die, Hyde, accept it."

The only thing Hyde accepted was the satisfaction he felt when he hit Kelso in the face when he punched him.

"Steven/Hyde!" Jackie and Eric yelled in almost perfect unison, matching one another's tones perfectly. Fez was in shock.

Kelso took it like a pro, his head only tilted to the side from the hit. He would normally complain and try and hit back but he didn't. He just stood there and eyed Hyde, whose fist was still extended forward; looking like he was gonna hit him again.

"Are you done?" Hyde asked. "Are you done trying to get me to kill you?"

Kelso frowned, a small drop of blood escaping from his lip. "You mean telling you the truth? Yeah, I'm done. You wanna be ignorant and ignoring the truth about him, go right ahead, Hyde. You're throwing your life away."

"What the hell is your problem?" Hyde demanded, his fist now dangling from his side, ready to strike again if necessary. "Why are you acting like an asshole?" Hyde regretted punching him. Things were already tense and bad enough without him throwing fists into the fray. But Kelso pissed him off by trying to destroy his hope for finding his one family member he cared for. He had a right to get mad.

Eric and Jackie and Fez felt awkward at the exchange that was happening between the two friends, scared things were gonna end badly for the two of them. Eric turned to his crush, "Keep an eye on this and let me know if things go south fast. I gotta talk to my sister."

Jackie nodded at him and watched as he slipped his way by and made it to the stairs. He looked at the rigid and tense postures of Kelso and Hyde before he made his way up the steps towards his sister's bedroom, going through the possibilities in his head on what to do when he got there.

Kelso didn't answer Hyde's question, just looking at him with his glare on his face. He was just trying to convince Hyde that his brother was gone so he didn't let his life slip by him on a hopeless cause. Hyde wasn't gonna find him because he was dead. He stayed behind while the building exploded. There's no way he could've survived that. And Hyde has the nerve to punch him for telling him the truth.

And he was the dumb one of the group. Pft; yeah right.

"Answer me," Hyde told him. "Tell me why you're acting like an asshole."

"He's just trying to save you from throwing away your life," Fez spoke up for the first time in a while. Hyde looked at him, curious as to what he was gonna say to piss him off. "I'm sorry Hyde, but Frankie's dead. I know you don't wanna hear it, but it's true. We saw the explosion."

"Did you see him die? Did you see his body? No? Then he's still alive. I found his gun. That's a clue. A sign. He's alive, I know it." Some desperation leaked into his voice, but no one really caught on to it. Hyde was really good at the denial game.

Kelso blinked, "Fine. Waste your life, Hyde. I don't care anymore. Have fun looking for a ghost." He pushed past him and Jackie and made it to the door, pulling it open to reveal Donna with her hand extended, about to knock on the door. Kelso didn't spare her a word and disappeared into Point Place.

Donna looked back and forth in confusion. "What just…?"

"Nothing." Hyde answered before Jackie or Fez could start telling the story. He hid the Python in his pocket before he made his way past the stairs and into the small dining room, intending to go around the house and into the backyard but not run in to Kitty and Red.

Fez looked around awkwardly at the places where Kelso and Hyde had both vanished to. It wasn't a surprise that they fought as they did that a lot any way, but the tension and anger in the fight is what got to him. Kelso had changed so much from when he killed Johnny, one of Bud's men. He wasn't the same and more serious about life and Frankie's death showed him that life is cruel to anyone and everyone and there's no true way to deal with it, which made him so easy-going with death. It didn't bother him like it did a normal person.

Jackie looked at Donna, "I need to ask you something."

Donna was confused but nodded, "Sure. What is it?"

"Do you really blame Frankie for everything that's happened?" Fez piped up with interest, sitting forward as best he could in their direction. He never heard this before and he found out about almost everything.

"Eric told you, didn't he?" Donna asked the second Jackie's question was finished. When the girl nodded, she sighed in retaliation. "Think about the facts."

"Frankie didn't cut off Eric's hand," Jackie jumped in. "He didn't shoot Hyde," she pointed to Fez's leg. "He didn't drop the motorcycle on Fez. He didn't do any of that. He killed three people, his family and ex-friends, for us. He went out a hero and you just won't see that."

"I didn't say he didn't make up for what happened. I'm saying that maybe if we would've listened to him, and left him to die like he wanted-"

"Stop right there, Pinciotti." Jackie warned her, starting to get angry at what was close to coming out of Donna's mouth. "Don't you dare finish that sentence! If we would've let him die, do you have any idea how guilty and how bad we all would've felt?"

Donna glared at her, "I'm pretty sure Eric and Hyde would take guilt over not having a hand or an eye, Burkhart. It might sound cruel but it's true. We should've just let him die when he wanted to and not when it was already too late."

"Eric is right," Jackie eyed Donna up and down in disgust. "You do need to grow up."

"Says the girl who's always had eyes on my boyfriend and didn't tell me."

"Ex-boyfriend if I'm correct." Jackie spat, not liking to hear Donna call Eric her boyfriend when both had told her that they broken up. "And if I woulda told you, you would be acting like this to me. Pissy and bitchy."

Fez would've shouted burn if this wasn't so serious.

"I'm only acting like this because you hid it from me."

"Oh sure," Jackie drew out long and sarcastically.

"Don't act like that with me!"

Jackie held her hands up, "Oh sorry, _Mom_, I didn't mean to act like this." She turned and started to follow Hyde's path. "I hope Frankie's looking down at you in disappointment." She stated before she left the room.

Fez stayed quiet as he examined what was going on around him. Everything was so wrong now, so destroyed. Fez didn't blame Frankie for anything. He was on Jackie's side for that. Fez blamed Bud for everything that's happened and wouldn't ever blame Frankie for something that was out of his control. Donna shared a look with him as Fez asked himself the one question he was sure was buzzing around everyone's head.

What the hell happened to their circle of friends?

…

Eric stood outside of his sister's room. Before everything happened, he avoided coming here at all cost, scared of what Laurie would do to him if she caught him anywhere near here. This was a dose of humor for him in a strange and messed up way. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do exactly. Did he knock or did he just wait here until she decided to come out? He didn't know what to say to her if they actually talked.

His assumption was that she was depressed over Frankie's death. Eric felt that his once-sluty sister had actually fallen in love with someone and wanted something more than a one night stand. So it would make sense if she were to be depressed over his sacrifice for them. Eric couldn't bring him back so he couldn't exactly make her all smiles and happy again. His death and her rape by his brother was probably what was going through her head all day every day.

Every time Eric thought about what happened with his sister, it made him wanna go and find Nathan's ashes and just stomp on them until he could hear his ghost beg him to stop. He was glad the asshole was dead, but wished that it was him that put the bullet in his skull. It gave him peace of mind knowing that someone, Frankie, had done it. But he would never be truly gone. His presence would stay with not only Laurie, but Jackie too, for a long long time.

Sighing, he knocked on the door to her room, waiting for something to happen. He didn't hear anything other than the muffled sobs of his sister. So she was awake, at least. He knocked again before he heard the quiet muffled 'Go away' from her cracking voice, presumably from all the tears she was releasing.

"It's Eric," he said, like if telling her who it was would be enough to get her to talk. "Listen Laurie, I know you don't wanna talk right now, but I want to help you. I know that you miss him. I do too sis, believe me; but you can't just cry all day for him. He wouldn't like that. I can't imagine having the person I loved," Jackie instantly came to mind, "Dead. I don't know how much you're hurting, but if you wanna talk… I'm here and if you don't want me to tell anyone what you're feeling, I'll do that to."

He waited, now not hearing anything come from Laurie. After a second he heard the shuffle of blankets and then the footsteps. The doorknob jingled and Laurie opened her door, her eyes all red and puffy from the weeks of crying. Eric disgustingly noted that she was wearing her same pajamas from weeks ago and it looked anything but clean. Her hair was a mess too, matching her defeated form perfectly. What was once a rare saddened pout was visible on her face.

"You look like shit," he blurted before he could stop himself. He felt guilty.

She ignored his comment, nervously peeking around to see if someone was with him. She relaxed a bit when she saw no one was there. "You'll keep everything a secret?" a small edge was in her voice and Eric nodded. Laurie motioned him inside and Eric shut the door behind him. "I have to show someone this."

"Show what?" Eric asked. Laurie moved her hand under her sheets to grab something before she went to give it to him, not believing he'll be able to catch it with only one hand. He wasn't good at anything sportsy to begin with. Eric gasped, "No way… no… no way!"

"Way." Laurie repeated to him sounded incredibly defeated.

Things just got a lot worse.

End of Chapter 2 of Long Road

Eric/Jackie development there, somewhat.

I feel bad for Hyde and Red, don't you?

So whose side are you on? Jackie's or Donna's regarding who's to blame for everything.

Who's your favorite character this chapter? I tie between Eric and Hyde.

What did Laurie give Eric?

Lots of questions. Next chapter will be an important one in character and plot development, at least I think.

Will Bud return? *shrugs*

Next Time: Chapter 3


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own That '70s Show

AN: **Sorry for the wait but I was gone for a few days. I'm back now, however, and am ready to continue writing this story and all my other ones. I have more stuff planned, which includes returns of old characters, more introductions for new characters, and even more deaths. Yeah, the ride is sure to be a fast-paced one with many twists and turns.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 3

Michael Kelso was never pegged to be withdrawn. He almost never kept to himself and always had something that he felt like he needed to be said. He was always joking around, always getting into trouble, and took the consequences of what he did in stride with his dopy grin plastered on his face.

But now, if someone who knew him saw him walking now, they wouldn't recognize him right away. Instead of his grin, he was frowning. Instead of being happy, he was angry. Kelso wasn't the same man that he was just a few weeks ago. He wasn't going to concerts or doing stupid stunts and pranks like he used to always do. His agenda nowadays was just consulted of him sitting around and dealing with the demons that have plagued themselves into his brain.

He used to have no worries. He used to only care about having fun and working to get the next female that he found hot in his bed. But now he had worries and hasn't wanted to touch a woman in weeks. After the truth of his deceased friend, Frankie Wilson's, sexual assault to him by his family, Kelso wasn't up for trying to have sex for a little while. In fact, he hasn't had sex for a month and a half. Kelso had become a completely different man in the course of these past few weeks and it wasn't into something that Kelso particularly wanted or was proud of.

His worries ranged from his friends handicaps to his own personal demons. Eric and Hyde were both hurt in horrible ways that Kelso couldn't even begin to describe how they must be feeling now. He was there when they were both hurt and was within a few feet of Hyde when the Zen boy got shot. Kelso could easily have been the one that got shot and lost his eye. He couldn't make it to Eric in time to stop Bud from cutting off his hand, the horrible image of Eric's arm shooting out blood like a garden hose attacking Kelso whenever he sat down to think about anything. That was just one of the many horrible images that slipped its way into the once empty mind of Michael Kelso.

And then there was the one image that haunted Kelso on a daily, even hourly, basis: The corpse of the man, more like monster, he had killed.

Johnny.

Kelso had taken the life of one of the many people who had broken into his and his friends' lives and ruined everything. He had protected Fez from the man when he tried to strangle him to death. He shot him with his shotgun, which he kept locked away in the Formans basement with all of the other weapons. Kelso didn't think it would affect him so much, having done many stupid things throughout his life. But the fact that he had killed someone was haunting. It wasn't something that one just lives with. Even Eric wasn't unfazed by his murder of Isaiah, sometimes having a nightmare or two about his final moments with the man. Eric just had other things to worry about besides the murder and that's what made Eric a little bit saner in comparison to Kelso.

There isn't anything easy about taking a man's life; Red had told him when Kelso asked him earlier today about how to deal with the mental trauma of killing someone. But when you get it done, Red had continued when Kelso showed he was paying attention, you just have to forget it and move on.

Kelso hasn't quite got that last part down yet.

Walking past The Hub, Kelso stopped in his tracks as his eyes wandered to select parts of the fast food restaurant. The Hub had recently just opened back up after repairs to it had been done after the gunfight that had taken place here. Kelso could still see trails of dried blood on the concrete in front of it.

Cody and Johnny's blood.

And then on the inside by the front door, Kelso noted as he walked in, there was the small out of place smudge of cracks and scratches.

Gunshots from both Bud's gang and his friends.

Kelso walked over to the counter to order himself something to eat. As he waited for the guy behind it to get him his fries and burger, he turned his head towards the table where he and his friends usually sat when they came here.

In that spot, that was where Mike and Isaiah were supposedly murdered for the first time.

The counter where he stood was where Eric hid while ducking and dodging hails of bullets.

One of these tables was Hyde's cover while he avoided gunshots.

And by the front was where Frankie hid from the same bullets.

Kelso probably picked the wrong spot to get something to eat, but he couldn't help that his stomach was growling and needing of some food. He could deal with the creepy atmosphere until he was done eating. His friends' favorite hangout but the basement had turned into just one of many locations where they were attacked and nearly murdered by Bud and his gang.

His fries and burger were ready by the time he finished reminiscing about this place and all the bad memories that now came with it. Thanking the guy and giving him some money, Kelso sat down at any table that was a good distance from the one by the wall where they all usually gathered. He was lucky that he could come in here without flipping out and running, he wasn't gonna push his luck and try and sit where attempted murders happened.

Slowly taking a bite of his burger, Kelso thought about his words to Hyde before he stormed out. The bruise that was forming on his cheek stung as he remembered his harsh words to the one-eyed boy. Kelso felt bad for trying to take away Hyde's hope that his brother was alive, but he couldn't watch Hyde go down this road of unreachable hopes and then having to trail back defeated and hurt. Kelso watched the building explode. He watched Frankie stay behind. He knew he was dead. Hyde wasn't there, which was the only thing that was keeping him going on this quest he gave himself. Hyde had enough to worry about with his eye injury and didn't need to add the hope of finding someone who was dead, living and breathing again.

But Hyde was as stubborn as a mule and wouldn't cave in ever. He would keep looking for his brother until he died himself. Kelso had to wonder to himself why Hyde wouldn't just accept that Frankie was dead. Everyone had told him what happened and had given him the same story in numerous ways. Hyde wasn't stupid, so there wasn't any reason as to why he shouldn't listen to the gang about Frankie's fate. He could just be in denial, but that wouldn't explain his determination to find him. Kelso wasn't Hyde so he couldn't know for sure, and asking him right now wasn't the best option due to the fight they just had. He would apologize when he went back and ask Hyde when things went back to what was normal for them these days.

Looking around out of sheer boredom, his eyes landed on someone that he didn't expect to see here: Brooke Rockwell. He hasn't seen her since their little incident at the Molly Hatchet concert a month and a half ago. That night was somewhat a victory for him since back when they went to school together, she never really went for relationships with guys and when she did, it was always the smart ones. Kelso was obviously not the most intelligent guy around these parts.

But now that he saw her again, the night came back and he remembered how they were both drunk when they had sex in the bathroom at the concert. It was a blur as to how it all really started, but Kelso was scared about if he had forced her to do it with him, given the standards that she had. After the Bud Incident, Kelso worried about his days of endlessly having sex and if he had indirectly forced some women into bed with him against their will. Sex was one of the factors that destroyed the close bond he and his friends had, whether it was near-sex or forceful-sex. Frankie's traumatic story opened Kelso's eyes about how much sex can really hurt someone and now that he witnessed one of his old one-nighters, his fear was starting to escalate as to whether or not he was as bad as Bud and his gang.

He quickly looked away from her in fear she would catch him looking and made it seem like he was just eating his food in peace. It didn't work because as he was looking down, she caught his gaze. "Michael Kelso?"

'Damn!' Kelso screamed in his head when he heard his name being called from her lips. Slowly looking up, he saw that she was indeed looking at him. "Hey, Brooke. Haven't seen you since the Molly Hatchet concert," the fear of him possibly having forced her into sex was rising at a fast and uncomfortable rate that made him wanna haul ass and never come back. Kelso could now admit that with this fear, he wasn't the same guy he was a few weeks ago. He was someone else. Someone that he would've laughed at before if it was anyone else. Oh, how things just got worse for him and his friends.

Brooke seemed to grow awkward at the mention of where they last were with each other, something Kelso didn't miss. "About that…" Kelso grew even more worried, afraid that she was gonna tell him what he was scared to hear. That he forced her to have sex and that he was a monster for doing so. "I'm actually kinda relieved I found you."

"Why…?" Kelso was anxious to hear what she had to hear. He needed to get this over with so he can start hating himself for doing something that he hated Bud for doing.

"You know how at the concert we were both drunk and had sex?" Kelso nodded, his heart starting to pound against his chest at a fast and uncomfortable pace. "Well… I just found out I'm pregnant."

'So not only did I force her into sex, I also got her pregnant. I really am as bad as Bud!'

"You okay?"

'No I'm not! What did I do!? I really messed up bad. I'm gonna be a dad.'

"Michael?"

'What if I'm as bad a dad as Bud? What if I can't be a good parent? I don't want my kid to have a murderer for a father. A crazy one at that. I have to get out of here!' Kelso abandoned his food and ran out of The Hub like a man possessed, knocking over anyone that happened to get in his way while he ran back to the Formans house.

Brooke sighed in aggravation. "I knew I shouldn't have told him."

…

Eric stared at the folded piece of paper that his sister had just given him with a look of shock on his face. His eyes must've been playing tricks on him because there wasn't a chance in hell that this was real. This had to be fake. It had to be a trick that Laurie conjured up to mess with him. It just had to be.

But the genuine look of fright and even anger on her face showed Eric that this wasn't fake and that it was true. He locked eyes with his sister and he silently asked her if this was why she was locked up in her room for weeks. Laurie nodded at him and Eric fell to the floor as he stared at the paper.

A note from Bud Hyde.

The son of a bitch had actually gotten enough guts to send a letter to them. Eric hadn't read the letter yet, and he really didn't want to since Bud's name was on the folded piece of paper. It made sense now why Laurie was away in her room for weeks. She wasn't mourning Frankie. She was scared of Bud's note.

"Should I read this?" he asked her, clutching the paper in his left hand while he angrily stared at it with all of the hate that he could muster.

"I think you should." Laurie answered honestly. "It talks about you, daddy, Kelso, Fez, and Hyde."

Eric slowly unfolded the paper and started to read the paper silently to himself:

_Formans,_

_It must be shocking for you to receive this letter from me, but I had to do it. I had to let you five remaining morons know that this fight isn't anywhere near over._

Eric growled.

_You guys killed my kids and my friends. I can't just let that go with an unbattered eye, you know? _

_Anyway, I'm gonna come after you guys again soon. When I exactly do that is not something you guys need to know. I'll come when I come. But while I got your attention, let me ask each of you a question._

_Eric, how does it feel to have one hand? _

"It sucks just like you,"

_You got no one to blame but yourself for that. If you would've just handed my son over, you would still be walking proudly with two hands instead of having an arm wrapped around in bandages. Don't get mad at me for doing that when you should've just listened to me. I bear no ill will to you, Eric, as crazy as it must sound. I just think you're an idiot. By the way, the way you killed Isaiah was brutal._

"Go to hell, Bud."

_Red, how does it feel to live knowing that you couldn't stop anything that happened? Your son lost his hand and you only watched it happen. Your foster son, my last kid, got his eye shot out and you couldn't even see it coming. Your wife and little girl got kidnapped and you weren't there to protect them. Everything that's happened is your fault. You shouldn't have let your anger at my lack of parenting take over. You shouldn't have attacked me. I wouldn't be this angry at you if you would've just yelled. You should've kept your fists at your sides._

"Asshole," Eric muttered.

_Kelso, how does it feel to know that you're a murderer? Johnny had nothing to do with what was going on. He didn't do anything except follow orders. Anyone else would've done the same if they were him. Johnny was just some hired help. Someone who didn't partake in anything horrific that we did. You killed an innocent man, Kelso; I hope you can live with that._

"He protected Fez, that's all that matters."

_Fez, how does it feel to know that you're worthless? You didn't do anything of value when you six morons were out there fighting. All you did was get a motorcycle thrown on you and only watched as your friends did all the real work. Kelso had to protect you, Steven got shot, Eric had his hand cut off, Red was fighting, Frankie was killing people. But you? You didn't do anything. You should've been the one who died and not Frankie. At least if he was still here, you guys would have someone useful for Round Two._

"I'm gonna laugh when Fez shoots him for calling him worthless."

_Steven, how does it feel to be a Cyclops and a horrible brother? How could you not have known that Frankie was your brother? Any real sibling would've known who their family was and you ignored him like if he was nothing. Frankie knew, but he was scared to tell you for fear of you attacking him for keeping it from you. He would've gladly gotten shot for you, but are you happy that you did for him? Are you angry at him for being your brother?_

"Just the opposite. He thinks he's alive out there and breathing."

_I hope having one eye doesn't hurt. If it makes you feel better, if I had the gun and if I wasn't dealing with Eric, I would've shot Fez or Kelso and not you._

"Trying to sound nice just makes Bud sound even more messed up."

_You five will be glad to know that this time I won't take your ladies. I just want the five of you. The next time I see you guys, you all won't escape alive. Ta-ta._

_Bud Hyde._

Eric wanted to rip the paper to shreds but refrained himself from doing so, knowing that his dad and friends needed to see this. They all were targeted now and their lives were in danger again. They needed to know or they would get killed.

He turned to Laurie, "You knew about this for weeks and didn't say anything? Is that why you've been crying and locked in here?"

"No shit, idiot! The last time you guys went against Bud you lost your hand, Hyde lost his eye, and Frankie lost his life. What's gonna happen to you guys now?" Laurie started to cry again. "I almost lost my family once to this guy and now that he sends you five a note with a warning that he's coming back, I have every right to be upset. I don't want you guys to get killed by this prick."

Eric didn't think that his sister cared about them this much. She usually always made fun of him and even threatened to set him on fire a few times, but this side of her was one that Eric had trouble watching. She did care about her family and what happened to them. She even apologized to Red for getting kidnapped and making him have to go through what he did. Laurie Forman did have weaknesses. They just weren't easy to find.

"We won't get killed. I promise that once we see him, I'll kill him myself. I'm not gonna lose anyone else to this guy. The only one that's dying here is him and no one else." He gestured to the note. "I need to show the guys this and you need to get out of here and start living again. Don't let fears keep you away from your life… you know Frankie wouldn't like to see you like this, right?"

"Don't bring him up around me, Eric or I will chop your other hand off." Laurie warned him. "I was actually starting to like him as more than my next sex target and then he kills himself in an explosion. I don't wanna hear anything about him for now."

"It's been weeks."

"Whatever," Laurie pushed past him and out of her room, "Get out of my room before I tell dad."

Eric laughed a little at some of the old Laurie slipping through the shell she now had around herself and listened to her request. He walked outside and looked back at the unfolded note, gripping it tightly in his hands.

"When I find you Bud… I'm gonna kill you… for Frankie."

End of Chapter 3 of Long Road

Kelso's plot is set up and now Bud's official return is coming. So much happening and only chapter 3. The story ain't slowing down any time soon.

To clear up some confusion about how Laurie feels for Frankie. She doesn't love him. She was starting to like him and was starting to see him as more than her next target, but she isn't in love with him. It might've gotten there if he survived, but he didn't and maybe she knows that and is mad at him for doing that.

Kelso is such an angsty boy right now. He sees himself as Bud in some ways. I really feel for him.

Next Time: Chapter 4 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own That '70s Show

AN: **I am back and ready to keep typing this story. I've some complications on how to set everything up and how I want things to play out and when certain 'big' events will happen. Some of that is fixed, although I'm still deciding whether or not I wanna do something else that'll change the ending of this story.**

**Oh well, I'll figure something out. There's some Jackie/Hyde here, but its only friendship. I'm definitely doing a Jackie/Hyde next after this. I just like Jackie/Eric a little bit more.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 4

Jackie followed after Hyde after he stormed off. She needed to make sure that he was okay. The boy had been through a lot and she didn't wanna risk him losing Kelso after already losing his eye and his brother. Hyde might like to act that he didn't need anyone, but after everything that's happened, he'll be destroyed if he lost Kelso's friendship.

Normally Jackie wouldn't be too worried, knowing that the two friends could easily work everything out and make things right again; but she wasn't too sure about this time. Kelso did say some pretty hurtful stuff to Hyde. Even if he had good intentions, the pretty-boy knew how Hyde would react to the things that he said. Steven didn't want to know the truth about his brother's death and kept holding onto this hope of him being alive. Everyone knew that, but Kelso just felt like he had to bash the truth into Hyde. Jackie could see where Kelso was coming from, but that didn't mean it was okay for him to hurt Hyde like that.

Hyde was already injured physically. He didn't deserve to get hurt emotionally as well. Maybe Hyde knew the truth and just didn't want to get hurt too much at once. Maybe he was just pacing himself so when he recovered as best he could from his eye injury, he'll embrace the truth and mourn then. He worked in weird ways that no one could fully understand. He could be using his impossible journey to find his brother as a way to cope with his lost and they wouldn't even know. He only gave what he wanted to give and right now, Hyde looked like he was ignoring them and chasing after a pipe dream.

She circled around the Forman house, following the path in hopes that she found him. Jackie found herself thinking about what Donna said. How dare she blame their dead friend for everything that his father did? Jackie knew for a fact that if Frankie would've known what was gonna happen, he would've left them alone and abandoned them in hopes that they stay safe. Jackie could understand where Donna was coming from, but she couldn't understand why she fully believed what she said. Donna was supposed to be smart. She should've saw that nothing was Frankie's fault.

Maybe she did know that she was wrong and just couldn't admit it due to her not being able to stand being wrong. Jackie didn't know and honestly, she really didn't care about Donna's pride problems. All she cared about was that their dead friend was probably looking down at them and was upset that Donna blamed him for everything that went wrong.

Jackie arrived to the backyard of the Forman's house through the driveway, indeed finding Hyde. He was holding the basketball in his hands and was staring as intensely as he could at the hoop. Jackie could swear that he was staring at it like if it offended him or something. Hyde held onto the ball tightly as he ran and started preparing for a slam-dunk. He missed and hit his head on the backboard edge, dropping the ball and cursing at his failure.

He seemed to notice her standing there and stopped hissing, trying to act like she hadn't seen anything. "What's up?" he asked, purposely keeping her out of his left eyesight and gazing around to try and wipe off the embarrassment. That was the second time he messed up on the dunk. He usually made those pretty easily, but since he only had one eye now; he couldn't see where the backboard was and kept failing. Just another thing in his life that sucked now because of his gunshot wound. He couldn't play basketball well anymore.

"You okay?" she asked, concern leaking into her voice. They never had the strongest friendship with each other, but they, as a group, had agreed to stop fighting with each other on the smallest stuff and try and become better friends with one another. They didn't want to lose anymore time with each other after they already lost one friend. If something were to happen, they didn't want to regret not having gotten to know each other as best as they could.

"Yeah… why wouldn't I be?" he was still trying to play with the idea that she didn't see him mess up with shooting the ball. Even if he felt the trail of blood flowing down his head, he would just say it came from his eye hole… even if it was on the wrong side… and even if there wasn't any blood trail that connected between his left temple and the bandage… which was dry.

Jackie picked up the ball that rolled by her feet when he dropped it and pointed to a dark spot on it. It was some of his blood. Hyde sighed, quietly asking himself how the hell his blood got on the ball in the first place.

"You hit the backboard."

"No I didn't."

"Then why is there blood on the ball?"

"It came from my bandage."

"The blood on your head is coming from the left."

"It slid over."

This argument could easily have gone on for a long time, but they both knew that they didn't want to waste any precious daylight with arguing over Hyde and his basketball problems. It went against what they promised that they wouldn't do anymore. Jackie didn't want to be the one to relent, but Hyde was better at the excuse game than she was; so she threw the ball back to him and held her hands up in surrender.

"Fine… you win."

Hyde smirked, "I always do." He threw the ball over his shoulder, not wanting to hold or look at it after his failed attempt at playing basketball with one eye. "I'm sure you didn't come out here to spy on me playing basketball." Hyde never beat around the bush for anything, no matter how serious when it came to other people.

Jackie shook her head, "No, I didn't come out here to watch you hit your face against the backboard..." Before Hyde could defend himself, Jackie continued, "I came out here to see how you were after the fight you just had with Michael." Jackie inwardly smiled at her victory in the argument. She got the last word in and stopped him from denying where the blood came from.

As if on cue, hearing Kelso's name made Hyde frown, turning his head so his eye looked at the house and away from Jackie so she didn't see the regret in them. Even if he regretted his rash decision to punch Kelso just because he was trying to help him. After storming off, Hyde saw that what he did was rash and he could've made Kelso feel bad for trying to help him. Even if he felt bad, Hyde couldn't help himself. If one of Kelso's brothers was missing and everyone but him thought he was dead and he told Kelso that he was dead, Kelso would've gotten angry at him and would've punched too. Kelso was a good guy, but even he wasn't a perfect saint. Hyde saw Kelso was just trying to help, but Hyde didn't want that kind of help. If he was gonna get any help, it was gonna be them looking for leads into Frankie's disappearance and nothing else.

"You should ask him if he's okay. He's the one that got hit…" Hyde clutched his bandage in what appeared to be pain. He winced as he got the pain under control, reminding himself to check that later. He hoped Jackie didn't ask him about it. He hated talking about his injury, like if he appeared to be a weaker person because of it.

"Yeah, but he gets hit and hurts himself all the time. He's probably bounced back from it already." Hyde had to smirk at that. She was right. Kelso was probably all willy-nilly now after he got hit. "But you…" Crap, now they were back on him and his feelings. "You stormed out looking really hurt and after knowing you for a long time, that's not something that I usually see every day. You would usually just frown, shrug, or ignore it, not get offended and start throwing punches."

Hyde gave her one of his frowns, not liking where this conversation was going. He didn't want to talk about how hurt he was that his friend thought he was wasting his time on something good. He didn't want to talk about how he feels betrayed that everyone doesn't want to back him up on Frankie being alive.

But, most of all, he didn't want to talk about how angry he was at Frankie for abandoning him. They were brothers and brothers looked out for each other and stuck by one another. They didn't just leave the other one to handle everything by himself. He got where his brother was coming from. He was hurt in horrible ways that were worse than what happened to him and Eric and he wanted some kind of escape. Okay. He understood. What he didn't understand was why he didn't ask them for help. Everyone, Hyde especially, would've done everything they could to help him move on from what happened. Hyde would've stuck by him and offered to be his support, as would Eric, Jackie, and everyone else.

But no… No, he just had to take the easy way out and just abandon him. He left him alone with no family… again. Hyde didn't care that Edna wanted to make up for leaving him alone; he didn't care that Bud was a scumbag who tried to kill him; he didn't care that Frankie's brothers were also his.

But he did care that the only family that he ever cared for abandoned him. Just like with every other member of his family.

If Hyde wasn't so tough and had two eyes, he would've cried.

"Steven…?"

"Yeah?" Hyde looked back to Jackie after the period of silence that overtook them. She probably could figure that he was deep in thought since he hadn't responded to her in awhile. Hyde didn't want to talk about what he was thinking about. It was too private and too personal for him to speak about.

"Are you okay?"

Hyde wasn't sure what to say to her or how to respond to it without letting it slip how he was feeling. He didn't want her to know that he was mad at his brother for leaving them alone for himself. Hyde knew Frankie and hoped that there was another reason for why he left. He couldn't just see his brother leaving him without a good reason. He was out there and was ignoring them for some reason. Hyde honestly didn't care what the reason was. He just wanted his brother back.

"Yeah, Jackie, I'm fine. I only found out my father is the one that cut off Eric's hand and screwed us over. On top of that, I got shot and lost my eye." Hyde let some of his anger out or he was gonna pay for it later. When ever he now tried to keep all of his anger in, he got these massive headaches. Maybe it's because he has a lot of anger now and needs to let some out or maybe it was because he got shot and was still feeling the pain? Hyde didn't know.

The mention of Eric's amputated hand sent shivers down Jackie's spine. She felt really bad about Eric having to go through horrible pain for her. With Hyde, it was over in a flash. He got shot and then that was it. Eric had to suffer through the pain of feeling his hand brutally removed from his body. And it was partially her fault for what happened to him. If only she didn't get kidnapped in the first place, everything would've probably gone a little bit better and just maybe Eric wouldn't have lost his hand. She would do anything to give him back his hand.

"If you don't wanna talk, all you had to so was say so…" Jackie felt Hyde getting a little bit angry as she heard him talk. She then berated herself for asking him if he was okay when it was so obvious that he wasn't. Still, it didn't stop her from asking to make sure. They were friends and friends looked out for one another and made sure that they were okay.

"I'm fine, trust me… I'm fine… I'll talk to Kelso and tell him I know he didn't mean any harm and was just trying to help, alright?" Anything to drop this conversation already. Hyde really hated talking about his feelings with anyone, no matter who they were.

Jackie nodded, "Alright… Steven?" Hyde nodded. "Is your eye feeling better?"

"Just swell," he said this as he clutched the bandage, holding in the groan of pain that he was feeling. His eye hole was hurting a lot more than it should be. It was like he was getting shot again and the pain was on repeat. It just wouldn't stop. "Thanks for asking."

"You're clutching it."

"Shouldn't you be bothering your boyfriend Eric or something?" Hyde threw out the first thing that came to mind when he was talking to her. He wanted to see these two kids get together already and give each other some much needed happiness in this dark world that they were all living in now.

Jackie blushed at Eric being called her boyfriend. Even if they weren't officially dating, they did want to be boyfriend and girlfriend; but Jackie's selfish paranoia that she grew because of Nathan was stopping them from being with each other. It was like they were crossing a bridge and Nathan was the giant hole in the middle that separated them. If Jackie had to guess how to describe them, they were unofficially dating without all the perks that came with dating that she wanted with him.

Eric might want to be with her a lot, but Jackie would bet that she wanted to be with him a lot more than he wanted to be with her.

"He's talking with Laurie."

"Oh… Is she okay?"

"Ask him, he's coming out now."

Jackie turned her head to see her love walking out the kitchen door, holding a note in his only hand. Behind him were his father, mother, sister, Fez, Donna, and Kelso, who looked worse off then he did when he left.

Eric took a stand between Hyde and Jackie and dropped the news on them.

"Bud's coming back after us."

End of Chapter 4 of Long Road

Jackie/Hyde friendship here. Don't worry, its still Eric/Jackie romance, but I need this friendship set up for future events.

Sorry if it's short. Family problems are on the horizon right now.

More Jackie/Eric next time since it's been kinda lacking.

Next Time: Chapter 5


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own That '70s Show

AN: **Thanks again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It means a lot to me that people like this story so much. Well, just for you guys, I have something shocking and something horrifying planned that will make you all jump and hate me. Why do I want this? Because you would want to keep reading to see what happens next. I might give you a hint… or not.**

**BTW I should start 'Drowning in Sorrow' sometime this week. It'll be slow in updates though due to everything else I'm doing. I have this bad habit of starting too many fics but people have been waiting for months for this and I figured I give them the first chapter.**

**This chapter of Long Road features someone in the gang getting more injured.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 5

Eric read the note out loud to everyone after they all processed what he said about Bud coming back after them. The different reactions that everyone had been exactly what Eric figured would happen.

Hyde was angry… really angry. In his one eye that wasn't missing, you can see layers upon layers of malice and anger, with a dose of frustration. His hands were balled into fists and growls were escaping through his clenched teeth. The taunting that Bud had said to him about being a Cyclops didn't bother him as much as what he said about him being a horrible brother. Hyde was gonna kill Bud the next time they meet… painfully.

Kelso was short on breaths as he glanced quickly around, assumingly looking for any signs of Bud. When he stepped back into the house, he looked more apprehensive and scared than he was when he left. He wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong when they asked, only stating that it wasn't important and that it was for him to deal with it. Everyone left it alone after that, thinking it was just his guilt over killing Johnny. After Bud taunting him over being a murderer, it wouldn't escape them that that was the reason he was acting like this.

Fez was looking down in what appeared to be disappointment and guilt. Bud's taunt about him being worthless was really hitting it hard to him. He already stated to them many times that he wished he could've done more, but this was just too much for him. And hearing how he was the one who should've died and not Frankie, well… it really hurt him.

Red was the only one voicing his thoughts. "That son of a bitch!" he had his hand balled and raised into the air. "He dares to blame me for everything?!" Red was obviously angry at what Bud messaged to him, although a part of him was almost agreeing with the man that wanted them dead. How could he not have seen Steven getting shot? How could he not have stopped his son from losing his hand? How could he not be there to stop his wife and daughter from getting kidnapped? His anger, however, overshadowed the small traces of guilt that he was really doing well at hiding.

Eric watched as Jackie moved closer to him, hiding behind him for some sense of security. Eric could see the traces of fear that were in her eyes. It was like he had told her that Nathan was actually alive and was gonna come back to. Eric so badly wanted to wrap his arms around her in a hug, but she would push him away due to her trauma. This was worse torture for him than those brutal seconds of feeling his hand amputated. He couldn't comfort the woman that he loved more than anything else in the world. It was like she was kidnapped all over again.

Donna seemed to be stuck in a state of limbo inside her mind. She wasn't moving. She wasn't talking. She didn't even seem to be breathing. She was just quiet and was thinking to herself about what Bud had said. Eric didn't seem to know what she was thinking, but he could say that she was scared of Bud returning. They all were.

His mother was more scared for her husband and him than she was for herself. Bud had said that this time, he wasn't gonna come after the girls and only wanted the guys. Although Eric found that to be complete bullshit, as did Red and Hyde, they couldn't know exactly for sure that he was telling the truth. But on the other hand, they couldn't prove that he was lying either. He really only seemed interested in the guys this time around. But even so, they weren't gonna be unprepared and slip up. The last time they did, someone got killed.

Eric found himself glancing around the small crowd that they had in the backyard of his house. He pushed past Hyde clutching his eye, pushed past Kelso and Fez as the taller man helped the foreigner with his balance on the crutches, pushed past his father and his rant, and saw something… or rather someone.

For a split-second, he saw arms wrap themselves around Laurie's waist. He saw that smile that he had only seen a handful of times with the eyes that he wished that he could've seen bright, if even once. Eric blinked and then it was gone. There was nothing there anymore. No signs that there was ever anything behind his sister other than air.

"Goddamn," Eric thought that was just his father going off on another rant about the whole thing with Bud, but when he saw that Hyde was clutching his bandage while closing his other eye in pain, he knew it was him. "My eye."

"Steven?" Kitty's concerned voice cut off her husband's ranting. All eyes were now turned and focused on the sole surviving Hyde sibling as he tightened the hold that was on his bandage.

Hyde noticed the eyes that were being given to him and shook his head and acted like he wasn't just in pain a second ago. "Yeah?" he asked passive-aggressively, giving a look of confusion on why Kitty was talking to him in the first place. Hyde was really good at hiding his pain and brushing it off. He just did the same thing with Jackie not even ten minutes ago.

"Why were you just clutching your eye?"

Hyde raised his one eyebrow in confusion, "What're you talking about? I never touched my bandage." It was clear that Hyde was gonna keep going on like this until they left him alone. They've known him long enough to know that when he denies something that he clearly just did in front of everyone else, he didn't want to talk about it and insists that they drop it. He was grateful when Red cut in.

"Forget about Steven and his bandage." Hyde found himself nodding in agreement with the older man. "We need some sort of plan now that Bud is coming back. What did we do last time?" Red scanned over the faces and landed on his son, who found himself struggling to say what happened.

"Frankie came up with the plan last time…" his name brought sad gazes into Jackie and Laurie's faces. "It's gonna be harder this time since he's not here and me and Hyde are… missing limbs." Eric still found it hard to say out loud that he was handicapped.

"But this time it's just Bud," Kelso spoke up, gaining the attention of everyone around him. "There's no Mike, there's no Isaiah, there's no Cody, Nathan, or Johnny. It's just him."

Respectively, Eric tensed at the name of the man he killed; Jackie tensed next when the name of her abuser was brought up along with Laurie; and Kelso found himself almost falling to his knees when he remembered Johnny.

Everyone could agree though that he was right. This time it wasn't six on six. It was five on one. They had the advantage.

"Kettlehead has a point here for once. This time it's only Bud and that's it. No one else. No more surprise attacks, no more being pinned down and definitely no more people on our side getting killed." Red gave a warning look to Hyde in case he tried to start debating about the fate of his brother. Hyde relented and didn't say anything. "The only one who's gonna die this time is Bud." Everyone can nod and vogue for that.

"We should set up a plan." Eric spoke up. "No one should be alone until this is all over. Everyone should always have someone with them wherever they go."

Red nodded, "Good plan, son. We'll set up shifts, this way no one is ever alone no matter what. We can't afford to slip up this time and have someone get taken… or worse." No one had to ask what worse meant. "There are nine of us, so three groups of three should be good. Choose."

Eric immediately turned to Jackie, who smiled and nodded at him. She lifted her hands and seemed to start an attempt to hug him, but she stopped when she realized what she was exactly trying to do. Eric wanted to hug her in an attempt to try and show her that he did love her and that it was okay to love him back, but he didn't want to push her and make her upset like at the hospital. He couldn't handle her slapping him again. The pain didn't hurt him as much as the fact that it was _**Jackie **_who had slapped him.

He pushed the memory away and turned back into reality, looking to find their third person. Red has already chosen Kitty and Laurie as his two people, so they were out of the question. Eric and Jackie could imagine the tension and awkwardness if they chose to have Donna as their third member, so their choices were down to Kelso, Fez, and Hyde. Kelso and Fez were already together and didn't look ready to split up anytime soon, so their third choice was gonna be Hyde.

Eric ushered him over and the teams were all set. Eric, Jackie, and Hyde. Kelso, Fez, and Donna. Red, Kitty, and Laurie. Now all they had to do was wait.

And waiting was always hard.

…

Hyde was panting as he sat in his chair in the basement, glancing at the television that he found to be very uninteresting. Jackie and Eric were sitting on the couch next to one another, both trying to lean in to the other and provide some kind of touch to the other. Next to Eric was his handgun that he swapped his shotgun with Hyde for. It was obvious that Eric couldn't shoot the bigger gun anymore, so Hyde decided to switch with him. He didn't mind.

His head was getting light. He's been feeling like this for awhile now; roughly since he woke up from his coma a couple weeks ago. It hasn't shown any nasty results yet, so he kept it to himself, but he almost passed out twice today when he was talking to Jackie and when he fought with Kelso. It was fine though. He didn't pass out yet. Until he did, he wasn't gonna worry anyone with his problems. He had to focus on dealing with Bud and finding Frankie. They needed his help now more than ever.

He excused himself to splash some water over his face, taking the shotgun with him so he wasn't completely defenseless if Bud came now. He was grateful that Red kept the weapons. It would make this thing a whole lot easier.

Jackie turned to Eric once Hyde was out of sight. "Eric?"

The one-handed boy turned his head so he looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?" Jackie was thinking that this would be a whole lot easier if she can hug him or even hold his remaining hand.

Eric nodded, "Of course. What is it?"

She glanced down to his left hand. "Don't lose this hand for me."

"Jackie…"

"I'm serious, Eric. I've already made you lose your right hand and I'm too much of a mess for you to date. Don't be an idiot and lose your left hand for me too." Jackie was pleading with him. She didn't want to imagine Eric doing something stupid in the near-future that was gonna get him injured even worse than he already was.

"Jackie, stop talking like that." Eric pleaded right back. "You didn't make me lose my right hand. That was Bud. You aren't a mess, so stop thinking that. You're perfect and nothing is gonna change my mind about that. Just because you're scared doesn't mean anything."

Eric decided to make a decision. He doesn't know if it'll work out in the end or if it'll make things ten times worse than they already were, but he had to try. He didn't know now if he was gonna make it to the end of this battle, and didn't want to die with any regrets. And if he didn't do something now, his biggest regret would be not showing Jackie how much he loved her. He would do anything to protect her.

Even die.

He knew that he had to move slowly or she'll attack him again. He made sure to keep eye-contact with her at all times. He brushed her locks through his fingers, being extra careful and watching her to see if she was about to snap and cry. She was doing her best to not whimper, but a few escaped as he moved his hand across her hair that he loved.

"Eric…"

"I know, but I want you to know that I love you." He smiled. "If you get scared or if it becomes too much, just tell me and I'll stop." Jackie nodded slowly at him. She wanted this too. She wanted to have Eric do this to her everyday and wanted to do it to him, but she was too frightened. She was really scared now, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him. He looked so happy to finally try this and she didn't want to kill his spirits by saying to stop. She had to fight it and try and enjoy it… no matter how much she wanted to run and cry.

She loved feeling him dig his fingers through her hair, twirling them around in his finger. She wished that there could be twice the movement that she was feeling now, but this was better than nothing… way better than nothing. Aside from the fear that was threatening to eat her alive, this was exactly how she imagined having Eric love her being.

Soft and tender.

Jackie unconsciously wrapped one hand around Eric's stump as he continued to stroke her locks. When she closed her hand around where his should be, he winced; which she didn't miss. Eric stopped stroking her hair and grabbed his arm where his bandages were, groans of pain escaping his previously smiling face.

Jackie immediately felt guilty. "Eric! I'm so sorry!" How can she be so stupid and hurt him when he was only trying to help her? Maybe a part of her wanted him to get hurt so he would stop touching her.

He shook his head, giving a strained smile. "It's not your fault. I've been like this for a little bit now." He groaned. "My arm really hurts."

Jackie unwrapped his bandages and gasped at what was underneath them:

Eric's arm, from his wrist up to the middle of his arm, was purple.

"What happened?" she asked frantically.

"I don't know. It just turned like that."

"We need to get you to a hospital."

End of Chapter 5 of Long Road

Yeah, cliffhanger ending. Sorry.

I'll try to make chapters longer from here on out.

Hope you liked the E/J in here. More of it to come. Things will happen that's gonna test their relationship.

And what's up with Hyde and his eye?

Did Eric's vision act as a foreshadow for the future of Frankie? I don't know.

Next Time: Chapter 6


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own That '70s Show

AN: **A new update is ready for you guys. I am proud to say that I have a nice little action scene planned out next chapter that you guys will hopefully love. It's something I'm proud of and can't wait for you guys to see it. **

**We see how Eric is doing in this chapter after having some more of what's left of his arm turn purple. It isn't good. Hyde gets hurt too and I guess it's not as bad as Eric, but its still pretty damn sad.**

**I should have another chapter of Drowning in Sorrow up soon.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 6-

They really didn't want to be back here.

After what happened to Hyde and Eric, the last place any of them wanted to be was this place. It only served to give them nightmares about the incident that they were in weeks ago. Images of Hyde lying in his coma along with Eric having his stump wrapped crossed everyone's minds as they all sat here again. It was just like when they first found Frankie, which was the starting point to the race of drama and torture that they've all dealt with over the last month and a half. They were all sitting in chairs, waiting for news to be told to them that they were scared to hear.

The only difference was that Eric was missing and it wasn't Frankie that was in the ER.

Hyde was over the water fountain, pretending to take sips when he was really trying to wash down some of the burning feeling that he felt crawling up in his eye hole. He was getting close to shoving his head in the sink back at the Forman's House when Jackie had screamed that Eric was hurt. Forgetting about his pain, Hyde had run out to see what the problem was. He had been shocked when his one eye landed on a dark purple spot that was on Eric's stump that traveled to the middle of his forearm. With no hesitation after that, Hyde had alerted everyone upstairs and within the next half hour, they were where they were now.

Hyde felt dizziness creep into his head as he stumbled back to his seat next to Fez, doing his best to not let his head sway as the hotness and pain took him over. Hyde didn't know what was wrong with him as he stared around the area, trying to focus on anything else other than the pain that was beating against his skull. He was worried that maybe that gunshot did more than just blow half of his face off. He didn't know what can be worse, but he was worried because the only other thing that was worse than losing half of your face was death. Hyde didn't want to die yet. He was still needed to fight Bud. They needed his help. With him and Eric handicapped, Hyde already knew that the fight would be harder, but they needed the numbers advantage. If he had to die, fine, but not until Bud was dead too.

He stared at Kelso, who wasn't trying to flirt with any of the nurses like last time. Instead, he was flipping through the pages of some random magazine that he picked up. Hyde didn't have a chance to apologize to him over hitting him. He did promise Jackie that he would try and to do it, but Kelso's posture just screamed tension ready to boil over. Ever since he left to go wherever it was that he went and came back, he's been worse. He wouldn't tell anyone, but Hyde knew that it had to have been something great that could make his already traumatized friend even more nervous. Hyde wanted to ask now, but there were too many people around. He would ask him when they were alone and out of ear range for everyone.

Hyde hated looking at the worried look on both Kitty and Jackie's faces. Eric's amputation had hit both of them the hardest and had made them really protective over the one-handed boy. Knowing that he was in the hospital because of said amputation, Hyde knew that they weren't taking the revelation that they were all given just a few moments ago.

Eric had to have more of his arm removed.

Apparently, the knife that Bud had used to cut his hand off in the first place had so much dirt and bacteria on it that when he chopped off Eric's hand, some of it got inside Eric's bloodstream. That was the reason why Eric's arm turned purple. They were lucky to catch it now, the doctor alerted them because any later and Eric would've been killed by the infection. That gave both Kitty and Jackie a good enough reason to worry and cry over Eric and his condition.

Hyde didn't see why everything bad was happening to Eric. Eric was the nicest guy he knew. He didn't deserve any of the crap that has been happening to him lately. First he gets his hand chopped off by Hyde's scumbag of a father, secondly he had to watch the apparent death of one of his best friends, Hyde still believed that Frankie was alive and out there somewhere, and lastly, he needs to have more of his arm removed because of his first amputation. That was a cruel twist of fate that had Hyde's stomach tightening in knots. He was angry. Angry at a lot of things. But he was mostly angry at Bud, with himself a very close second.

Hyde hated how he couldn't do anything at the end. He hated how he wasn't there to stop his brother from 'sacrificing' himself for the group. He hated how the only real things he was able to do were shoot Nathan's ear off and get shot himself. He kept running the scenario in his head that if he would've been there, if he would've helped his friends when they really needed him, everything would've been different. If he wouldn't have gotten shot, he could've stopped Eric from losing his hand, which would've made this scenario that they were in not possible. He and Eric would be fine and Frankie would still be with them instead of out there in the world somewhere by himself. It killed Hyde to know that the only family he cared about was out there alone somewhere and he couldn't do a damn thing to help him.

He felt the pain come back; ignoring the stares he got from his friends as he clutched the side of his head. He couldn't let them see him weak. He needed to be strong to help stop Bud once and for all when he came back. He felt dizzy again, he felt pain again, he felt a lot of things. He didn't know what happened next when he crashed onto the floor with darkness taking him over, the only thing he remembered hearing last was his name being called.

…

Hyde stirred as he felt someone shake his arm. No longer was there the pain that he felt in his head for a long time. As if like magic, the thing had disappeared and receded in a hole somewhere. His one good eye opened slowly, white spots in his vision as he let his body turn itself back on after falling unconscious. The first thing he saw was Fez sitting in a chair eating some M&M's, causing Hyde to remember the last time he saw his foreign friend eating the chocolate candy in this same hospital. He let a smile cross his face as he remembered his brother punching him in the jaw. Good times.

Kelso was glancing over a small booklet as he stood at a corner at the far end of the room. Hyde couldn't see what the booklet was about, but he saw that whatever it was, Kelso was giving it his full concentration. Never has Hyde seen his friend look that serious about something. The only other times that came close were when his killing of Johnny was brought up.

He was sure he was seeing things when Eric was shaking his arm, more of his right arm missing as Hyde looked him over. Hyde was confused now. How long was he out? He couldn't have been knocked out for more than a few minutes if Eric was here and not in the ER. Eric's arm was gone from the middle of the forearm down. His arm looked more professionally wrapped now than it was the last time Hyde saw him.

Eric smiled, "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty." Hyde deadpanned, annoyance crawling in as Eric tried to be funny. Hyde just noticed that he was lying on a bed. "We've missed you."

"How long was I out?" he asked as he stretched his arms over his head, glancing back at Eric's second amputation.

"Three weeks." Hyde almost gasped. Three weeks?! "You had a really bad infection in your eye. Some pieces of the bullet were still lodged in your head. Luckily you didn't lose anything else like I did, but you were out longer than I was." Leave it to Eric to make light of their injuries. It was something only Eric Forman could do.

"Where is everyone else?" he asked, glancing around to see that no one else but the guys were here.

"Red and the rest went to load our weapons in the Cruiser." Kelso explained, finally looking up from the small booklet. "I supposed you sit down," Hyde glared, gesturing to him lying in the bed. "Sorry." Kelso apologized as he took a seat next to Fez. "Hyde… I'm gonna be a dad."

"What?!" Hyde yelled, almost jumping out of the bed. Did Kelso go off and have sex while he was unconscious? The nerve of the idiot. Hyde was gonna kick his ass.

"I found out before Eric had to go to the hospital." Hyde relaxed a little bit, glad that his friend wasn't off doing it while he was in the hospital. "I didn't know what to do so I kinda ran off like a jerk." Hyde nodded, figuring that was a typical Kelso reaction to do. "But when Jackie and Donna dragged me to the library to look up some books on trauma," Kelso sighed as he continued. "She was there. The mother of my unborn child."

"Who is she?"

Fez grinned, "Get this… Brooke Rockwell."

Hyde scoffed, "No way."

Eric shook his head. "He's being serious, Hyde. Our Kelso is going to be a dad… if he would do something other than just calling to check in on Brooke." Hyde didn't know what he meant. "Kelso is scared he's gonna be a bad dad."

"That's because I am. What if I mess up? No baby wants a murderer to be their dad. What if I become like Bud?" hearing the name of his father made Hyde growl angrily as he climbed off of the bed and grabbed Kelso by the collar of his shirt. Kelso was too shocked to do anything about it.

"Listen to me. Just because you killed someone doesn't make you a monster. You had no choice. It was either him or Fez and I'll be damned if I sit here and let you compare yourself to my father." He missed how Eric and Fez shared a knowing look. "Get your head out of your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself about something you had to do."

Kelso nodded, Hyde smirking before he released him. "And about three weeks ago… I'm sorry, I guess." He said as he apologized for the fight that he and Kelso had in the living room of Eric's house. "I gotta take a piss." He said as he disappeared into the bathroom that was in his room and out of ear shot for the conversation that was about to happen between Eric, Kelso, and Fez. One that he probably would've wanted to hear.

Eric sighed. "Do we tell him?"

Kelso scoffed, "Yeah, let's tell him that the man he thinks is his dad isn't really his dad." After Hyde had collapsed and had undergone surgery, his medical files were looked at and that was when Kitty had made the discovery. The discovery that Bud Hyde really wasn't Steven Hyde's father. When they found out, they were ecstatic. They had finally gotten some good news, but then Eric had pointed it out. He pointed out that if Hyde knew that Frankie wasn't really his brother, he might lose it completely and shut down. His confidence that Frankie was alive and out there is what was keeping Hyde stable after all the trauma and pain they went through and were still going through. They didn't want him to go crazy. They wanted him to slowly come to the realization himself before dropping the ball on him.

"He'll go crazy over Frankie not being his brother. It's the only thing keeping him sane right now." Fez wasn't in his cast anymore and could walk normally. Running was still a challenge for him, but he was getting there and that was what mattered. He would be in top shape for the fight with Bud in no time.

"Fez is right, Eric. Maybe when Hyde comes around to Frankie being dead, he'll be ready to be told that he's not Bud's kid. It'll be his good news to overwrite his bad news." Kelso spoke, folding the booklet that he hadn't put down in three weeks and putting it in his pocket. "Come on, once Hyde comes out from his piss we gotta go on this hunting trip. Our skills are a bit rusty. Plus, Eric and Hyde need to learn how to shoot with their disabilities." Eric frowned slightly, waving his stump proudly in the air.

"Hey! I bet I'll still do better than you!" he boasted. "I'm a badass."

"Sure, believe everything Jackie tells you." Kelso waved his hand nonchalantly, smirking at the blush that made its way on Eric's face. "Dude, ask her out already. It's obvious to everyone that the two of you really like each other. I know you're scared, but just go and do it. This will make your relationship with Jackie better. God, she kissed you when you came out of surgery."

Eric blushed at the memory of the first thing he's seen after getting out of the operation was Jackie's lips on his cheek, saying to never scare her like that again.

"She's traumatized over Nathan and what happened. I don't want her to get uncomfortable and end up just seeing me as another Nate." It was Eric's biggest fear besides Bud. He was afraid of just being another pervert and monster in Jackie's eyes if he pushed her. He didn't want her to hate him. He couldn't bear the thought.

Fez rolled his eyes, "Please. Eric she can never hate you. You lost your hand for her. That's love baby." He attempted to ease his friend's thoughts, giving him a pat on the back for assurance. Eric smiled.

"Thanks you guys. Let's go before Leo annoys my dad to the point he kills him."

…

Eric was sitting by himself by a tree, twirling his gun in his hands as he gazed out at the view. Jackie had wanted to come with him, but Eric requested the alone time, promising to spend more time with her after he came back. Hyde was standing with Leo, who followed along for the heck of it; Kelso and Fez were playing bodyguards to the girls while Red stood behind the small fence that separated the cabin Red rented from the forest.

"You know why I followed you here?" Red asked his son as he watched him through the fence. It wasn't as big as a prison fence, but it was pretty damn close. They were pro-safety right now until Bud was dead. No one argued.

Eric smirked, "Because you love me and want me to stay safe?" Eric loved poking at his dad's love for him. It's something he hasn't done in awhile.

"Besides that," Red didn't lie to Eric anymore. With Frankie's death, he worried his son could go at anytime and didn't want to regret anything with him. Plus, Eric's infection hadn't helped much. "I know you've been acting weird. Even weirder than the hippie." Eric visibly winced. Being called weirder than Leo? That hurt.

"Harsh, Dad. But I have no clue what you're talking about." Eric looked away.

"Bullshit." Red shook his head. "Spacing out, ignoring your friends when they talk, acting like you've seen a ghost." Eric's eyes widened. He cursed his dad for being really perspective. "Son… just tell me if you're going crazy. Or tell me that you're on dope… you better tell me you're going crazy." Red warned. Even after everything, he still didn't want him on dope.

"It's fine, Dad. It's… no," Eric shook his head. "It's not fine. I'm not gonna lie anymore. Dad… I've been seeing Frankie." Red's eyes widened. Eric lowered his head. "I see him in my head all the time, calling to me, asking me why I didn't try harder to save him. It haunts me all day and night. Dad, I feel so guilty for letting him die." Eric has been seeing ghosts of Frankie for weeks now and didn't tell anyone. If anyone, especially Laurie, found out, they'll never look at him the same again. He already had to shoulder the guilt. He didn't want to shoulder the stares.

"How do you think I feel?" Red's words caught Eric by surprise. "Last time I saw that dumbass alive, I told him I wanted him out of my house and to never come back. I didn't think it would happen. I was just mad at the time. I didn't mean a word I said."

"Dad… I didn't know you felt bad."

Red laughed, "To think, the one guy outside of you four that I trust with my daughter is son of the man who wants us dead. Life is ironic."

Eric smiled. "You trust Hyde, Fez, and Kelso with Laurie?"

"Don't tell them or I'll kick your ass."

Eric laughed, "Sure thing, Sir. As long as you don't tell them about the ghosts I see."

"Deal."

Things might be getting better.

…

"He wasn't always an asshole."

Hyde looked over to Leo with a frown. "Bud? Yeah right." Hyde scoffed in disbelief as he watched Red and Eric talk by the fence. "He cut my friend's hand off for the hell of it, man. He's an asshole."

"I knew Bud for a long time. He was a good guy. I don't know what happened to him."

"Hard to believe you guys were friends." Hyde shook his head. He shouldered his shotgun. "Even so, if I see him, I'm gonna kill him."

"Violence never solves anything, man. Last time, you got shot. You wanna get shot again, man?"

Hyde shrugged. "If I take him down with me, then yeah, I will."

Leo frowned, "Sorry Hyde. I'm not gonna stop until I convince you."

"Good luck with that." Hyde welcomed a challenge.

"Okay, how about I tell you some stories of Bud at his best."

"Shoot."

"Fine. One time he-"

BAM!

Leo's head jerked back as Hyde's face was covered in his blood, his now dead body falling on Hyde. Hyde's eye widened. What the hell just happened?! Kelso and Fez ushered the girls away behind the house while Red and Eric looked back in shock. Hyde looked around as he held Leo's body, his gun dropped by his feet, and found it. Found what killed Leo.

A pair of eyes was revealed behind a scope for a rifle as Hyde watched the man stand by the van he just noticed was there as he lowered his gun, a small army of ten behind the man who killed Leo.

Bud.

End of Chapter 6 of Long Road

Look whose back. Back again.

Bud killed Leo. The bastard. That's messed up.

I started in Hyde's POV because I wanted a good handle on writing him for some badass shit he's gonna do later. Both next time and later on. Let's just say Hyde is gonna have the most badass kill in the story.

It's all one big gunfight next chapter boys and girls. Hold your hats. Let's get the rundown on where everyone is:

Hyde- Under Leo's dead body

Kelso- With Fez and girls beside cabin.

Fez- With Kelso by house

Jackie, Donna, Kitty, Laurie- With Kelso and Fez by house.

Eric and Red- Trapped outside in the open.

Poor Red and Eric. They are in a screwed position.

Someone is gonna return next time. Someone you all will love to see again. I hope people don't freak and give me a chance to explain before getting mad.

Next Time: Chapter 7


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